Chilled to the Bone
by braxis
Summary: Lissandra breaks Ashe to her will.
1. A Chilling Touch

Ashe shifted uncomfortably on her throne and eyed the door impatiently. Restively, she tapped her bow with a long finger. The rules that forbid weapons in the throne room did not apply to the queen of the Freljord. One a hunt Ashe had the patience of the ice itself, but waiting on visiting dignitaries? No. Her patience was wearing thin.

The doors to the room opened wide, and caused Ashe to suck in a breath in shock. The icy air burned her lungs, and chilled her to her bones. Briefly she wished for a blazing fire or for the rough fur of a cloak to warm her, but she knew it was imperative for Sejuani's ambassador to think that she was strong enough to conquer the elements of a Freljordian winter. Peering through the torchlight, she noted that it was not a member of the Winter's Claw approaching. It was Lissandra, her ally.

The formation of ice crystals on the hem of Lissandra's dress made it look like she crept forward instead of walked. Or possibly glided. Ashe was entranced by her motion as always. With a flick of her wrist, Lissandra set forward an icy hand and teleported to its location. She was at Ashe's side. In the chill air, the vapors from both of their breath condensed into visible clouds, but Lissandra did not appear to feel the cold. "Sejuani's people will not arrive for a time." She said. "They have been waylaid."

Ashe stifled a groan. She had hoped that today's meeting would cement a unified Freljord. That Sejuani's ambassador would be delivering a signed treaty. But it seemed that the notoriously fickle weather had another idea entirely. "Quinn said nothing of an approaching storm."

"The storm made itself visible to me." Lissandra turned her head toward Ashe, and Ashe flinched at the reminder of Lissandra's power. Despite her blindness, she could see using ice, and in the Freljord there was no shortage of it. Ashe was thankful that they were allies, her land was harsh enough of an enemy. Lissandra touched Ashe's hand with frozen fingers, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose. "Sometimes, things come up out of nowhere. Freeze."

Ashe felt a creeping chill that had nothing to do with the draft in the room. Her arm was encased in ice, and it was quickly spreading. She was helpless to fight it, and as the block of ice forming around her further suppressed her, she felt her struggles to escape cease and be replaced with struggles to breathe. And Ashe's world faded to black.

…..

After a time, Ashe could feel her body again. She opened her eyes into darkness, and shut them promptly. Making the blindness voluntary would keep the panic at bay. Maybe.

"You're awake." Lissandra commented.

She was here, the witch. She knew everything. Ashe could feel cold ice on her arms and legs, holding her body into a spread eagled position. Contrasting to the ice, she noticed that the air was warm, and she could hear the crackling of a fire. She could feel the rough warmth of a pelt underneath her body, her entire body. The absence of her clothes and the position of her body caused a fear to rise in Ashe and she jerked against her restraints futilely.

"Do not struggle." Lissadra commanded. "Do not scream."

Ashe obeyed.

"I've left you use of your mouth, for now. Speak your mind."

Ashe had initially planned on remaining silent and dignified, however she couldn't stop the questions from bubbling out. "Where am I? Why are you doing this?"

"I'm glad you asked." Lissandra smiled, although Ashe couldn't see her. "You see child, your friend Quinn was correct in her suspicions. I am not your ally. I am no one's ally."

"But you supported my claim."

"No interruptions." And Ashe felt a seed of ice grow inside her mouth, hardening into a gag. Her body heat melted it and caused icy water to trickle down her throat, but it never shrank. "It won't kill you, you can swallow the meltwater."

"And yes, I supported my claim. You're idealistic, little queen, with your desires for unity. Sejuani is strong, she would die before she broke to my will. I need a ruler that I can manipulate, and you are just the girl."

Ashe stiffened. She would never allow herself to become a puppet ruler.

"You will though," said Lissandra as if she could read minds. "And it shall be great fun making you mine."

….

Bound, blinded, and gagged Ashe was entirely at the mercy of the Ice Witch. She tensed against the unseen threat that Lissandra presented. She anticipated being hit, or burned, or frozen. She did not expect the light touch of icy fingers against her clavicle.

Lissandra dragged her fingers down Ashe's body slowly, torturously. Ashe could feel the cold touch the deep valley between her breasts and move ever downward. Compared to the coldness of Lissandra's hand, Ashe felt as though she was burning up. As Lissandra's hand reached Ashe's hip, she pulled her finger away. "You may even be easier than I thought." And Lissandra started the slow torture again.

This time, as Lissandra reached her breasts, she altered her movements downward. Instead of continuing onward, Lissandra brushed them lightly, avoiding the nipples. The cold combined with the stimulation caused Ashe's nipples to darken and firm, emphasizing the pink tips against her creamy skin. Ashe rolled her body involuntarily towards her captor as the cold lightly grazed one of them. Was it an accident? Lissandra lightly touched the other. Definitely not an accident.

Ashe shuddered as Lissandra moved her hand away and downward, then removed it entirely. Now Lissandra's hand was inquisitively running up Ashe's leg cold against the warm air and her skin. The contrast was pleasant. But as it reached a more sensitive region, it became more painful. Her legs, bound open made Lissandra's access easy. She slid a finger deftly between Ashe's labia without warning. Ashe struggled against the manacles, but as quickly as Lissandra had penetrated her, she removed the offending digit.

But Lissandra had left something behind. A seed of ice was growing inside of Ashe. It was small, and like the ice ball in her mouth, melted without losing its size or shape. Ashe flexed against it, trying to push it out, and successfully expelled a bit of ice water but the ball remained. The trickling of the cold water down her crack felt amazing, and her nipples hardened even more. Tryndamere's marriage to her was political in nature, he couldn't touch her like this.

Lissandra's hands were at Ashe's breasts freely now. Massaging, and the ice ball still grew. It filled her vagina entirely, stretching the cavity. Ashe figured that if she looked she would see it stretching her flat stomach, toned from years of harsh living and hunting into a more rounded and feminine form. And then Lissandra somehow managed to rotate the ball, spinning it, stimulating Ashe in ways she never thought possible.

And Ashe wanted more.

"If I free your hand will you be mine?" Lissandra asked, and Ashe nodded. Lissandra bowed her head to suck and bite at one of Ashe's nipples, causing Ashe to gasp. She had always expected Lissandra to have a cold mouth, but it wasn't the case. One of her manacles melted away, and Ashe's hand was between her legs rubbing her clit. The whole region burned with cold and unsatisfied desire. Ashe swallowed as her gag continued melting. The water, everything was cold.

She could feel the rush of her orgasm coming, and Lissandra let it happen. As Ashe lay panting on the furs, she heard footsteps as Lissandra left the chamber. Her blindfold melted away, and her body was freed. The ice inside of her mouth melted into nothing, as did the ice inside of her. For awhile she was content to lie in the puddle she had made, but after a time she rose to see whether Sejuani's delegation had arrived. She found her clothes piled neatly near the fire, a note on top "Behave. Obey." Penned in a spiky hand. As Ashe read the note, she felt the twinge of the ice shard reforming within her.


	2. Sandalwood and Cinnamon

With every step she took, Ashe could feel the shard of ice inside her belly. As she walked it moved with her, brushing against her walls ominously and radiating an omnipresent coldness. It was a malevolent coldness, and brought images of darkness and caves, of loss of control, and sordid pleasure. As Ashe thought that she blushed, and simultaneously her teeth began to chatter. She walked faster. Her destination, her chambers, held a hot bath and a roaring fire. A servant had intercepted Ashe as she staggered from Lissandra's study, and after looking her over reproachfully informed Ashe in no uncertain terms that the storm was abated, and that the Freljordan queen was obligated to look presentable. Palace gossip would have spread word of Ashe's disheveled condition by night's end. Ashe hoped that they attributed her glowing cheeks and stiff movements to Tryndamere's ministrations rather than anyone else. There had been a particularly resilient rumor that Ashe was involved with her scout, Quinn.

Using hawkshot on the hallway outside her chamber door, Ashe was thrilled to know that she would have privacy to bathe and dress. The heavy key around her neck opened the sturdy oak door into her sanctuary. Aside from herself, only a select group of servants could enter the room, and Ashe was happy to see that they had filled the large tub with steaming water. Although hot baths were an extravagance that she was sometimes criticized for, Ashe found that this particular luxury was what allowed her to get through her day impartially. They gave her the time to think, to mull things over, and to get warm. In the summer Ashe would lie on the black rocks around the palace and bathe in the river like the commoners, but in the winter there were perks to being the queen. She had, after all, endured years of roughing it as an archer before she had consolidated power. Or so she justified to herself.

Ashe dipped a single finger in the water and shivered at the warmth. The scents of sandalwood, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla filled the room. Notes of sage and orange accompanied them. In addition to drawing a bath, the servants had set potpourri over a candle to fill the room with emotional warmth. It was a secret used by Freljordan peasants, providing the sensation of physical warmth without burning the fuel. Ashe appreciated it, and expression of her people's devotion. The peasants, of course, made do with less expensive aromatics. Ashe drew her belt pouch out of her belly wrap, and set a few gold coins on her nightstand out of appreciation. She then unwound the cream colored cloth, leaving only her brown skirt, bra, and hood intact. They soon joined the pile of discarded clothes. Although she had intended to meet Sejuani's ambassador in her classic day wear, they simply would not do anymore.

Ashe slipped into the water and sighed with pleasure. The heat coursed through her body, warming her flesh. But the ice inside of her was everlasting, and despite being immersed in heat, her core was frozen. Resigned, Ashe lathered her snow blond locks with rosemary infused soap to wake her up and sharpen the senses. During her time as an archer, Ashe had had to render her own soap and used the rosemary to mask the repugnant odor of animal fat. But in the palace, her soap was refined, and the rosemary was only added due to her fondness for the scent. Ashe lavished attention on herself, cleaning every inch of her body, until the water changed from hot, to warm, to tepid. Then, the clatter of boots on the floor indicated it was time to stand up, and allow herself to be rinsed by a final bucket of hot water, painstakingly carried from the kitchens by her handmaiden. Ashe stood and closed her eyes so the soap wouldn't sting. The near scalding water, poured over, but the hands that gave her a rough towel didn't belong to Anna. Instead, frozen fingers touched her arm and the shard of ice in her belly expanded slightly. Lissandra had come for her.

"Where is Anna?" Ashe asked.

"Sejuani's ambassador will arrive sooner than anticipated. I am here to prepare you, and to escort you to the throne room."

"I can dress myself." Ashe said defiantly, and the ice shard swelled even further.

"That wouldn't be fitting." Lissandra swept into Ashe's closet and fingered Ashe's gowns. Lace, brocade, leather, silk were all passed over.

"I was thinking perhaps my royal reception robe, the indigo and violet velvet over the cream under gown." Ashe suggested, forgetting for a moment that Lissandra was blind, and unable to see the garments before her.

"That simply will not do." Lissandra disagreed. "But these will."

She handed Ashe the Freljord White Garments of Victory, and Ashe took them reluctantly. Essentially the same in cut as her day to day wear, this outfit held a special significance to the Freljordan people. And after a tragic battle in a snowstorm that left Ashe the sole survivor, Ashe had sworn to never wear them again. By wearing this irreverently, Ashe had caused a catastrophe, and she had promised never to repeat her mistake. "I can't."

"You will." Lissandra said icily. The ice inside swelled even further and started rotating slowly. Meltwater flowed out of her vagina, as the friction caused Ashe to flush in pleasure.

Weak kneed, Ashe attempted to continue her protest. "They'll see." She gasped, horrified at the thought of her entire court knowing how she felt.

The ice rotated faster. "Then you need to think before you speak."

Ashe tried and failed to don the garments, the spinning inside was distracting her from the most simple tasks. "Help me." Ashe begged. And Lissandra's cold hands were stretching the tight white fabric over Ashe's heaving breasts. Ashe's hardened nipples were very visible through the top, but Lissandra chose not to notice. Lissandra slowly drew the short white skirt up over Ashe's long legs, and secured it by wrapping the gold belly band tightly around her waist. If the ice swelled to the same extent it had in Lissandra's office, it would be visible to the public. Then, as a finishing touch, Lissandra created a necklace out of ice, and fastened it around Ashe's neck. The ice crystals were faceted to reflect the light, and hung from very near Ashe's throat down into her ample cleavage. The frozen gems would keep Ashe's nipples erect from the cold, and the realization that the ambassador would have to be blind to miss the effect caused Ashe to blush furiously.

After Ashe was sufficiently prepared, Lissandra quickly styled Ashe's hair behind a glittering diamond tiara whose opulence could not rival the necklace she had created. By this point, Ashe could no longer stand without shaking, and Lissandra took pity on the girl. The Queen of the Freljord would have to be able to walk to the meeting with the ambassador without raising questions for her plan to succeed. Lissandra drew a white ermine coat from Ashe's closet, and draped it around the Queen's shoulders. Although the cloak would not cover Ashe's breasts, if the Queen was clever, she would be able to cover her skirt while seated. Then, as a final concession, she allowed the ice shard buried within Ashe to shrink, and stopped its rotation. "We must go now." Lissandra said more imperiously than a queen, and Ashe had no choice but to follow.


	3. As Red as Blood

With Lissandra's assistance, Ashe was safely ensconsced on her throne before Sejuani's emissary arrived. Members of her court stood in the shadows along the edges of the great chamber. Bare torches cast flickering lights over their weathered faces and glinted off jeweled belt buckles and beaten helms. They carried no weapons. Ashe's people were loyal to her cause, but the Freljord made hard, proud men. They wouldn't hesitate to cleave a rival clan lord over a land dispute, even if the clan boundaries were supposed to be dissolved. And regardless, these men didn't need weapons. The coming of age ritual in the Freljord involved killing an animal without weapons. Many of these men had killed cave bears, direwolves, and a few had even brought down wild boar. Compared to such wild adversaries, killing a man would be child's play.

However the strongest of her allies was not present: the throne to her right was empty. Ashe always tried to arrange diplomatic visits when her barbarian husband, Tryndamere, was unable to interfere. In this instance, he was leading the troops she had sent to help "repair" some remote fishing villages that had suffered damages during a recent raid. In reality he was more likely dealing out some barbarian style justice by dispatching heads. Tryndamere had more experience cracking skulls with a hammer than he did pounding nails. Ashe could not leash her husband, but she could help prevent him from spinning out of control.

But the ache in Ashe's stomach attested that it was she that was out of control. She clutched her cloak tighter over her legs, concealing them and any meltwater that might be present. Her skin was covered in gooseflesh, but Ashe believed that the smoke and the shadows would disguise that well enough. They icy necklace glittered against her throat and into the deep crevasse that was her cleavage. The light it emitted could not be disguised, Ashe was indisputably the center of attention. She flushed at the thought, but part of her, a shard of vanity buried as deep as the ice chip, enjoyed the attention. And with that thought, the ice chip expanded a fraction of an inch, her body trembling as it moved. Her nipples stood at attention, the wooden doors creaked open, and Sejuani's ambassador arrived.

"Ashe." He growled. And his voice sent a wave of dread down her back.

Although she had never treated with this man before, but she knew who he was before seeing his crimson skin, rumored to be tattooed with the blood of his enemies. Harthrax, Sejuani's right hand, was synonymous with a demon in many Freljordan stories. It was said that if his name were aloud he would come and bring indescribable horror upon the speaker and his kin, but that didn't stop bards from telling whispered tales around many a tavern fireplace. Unlike Braum, Ashe's mustachioed ally, Harthrax used his strength for villainy. They said he bare-handedly reduced a farm to rubble when the family refused to offer their daughter to the Winter's Claw. They said he killed twelve wolves and drank their blood. They said that he knocked down the trees that made the Winter's Claw's catapults. And most frighteningly they said he shared a bed with Sejuani. His presence here meant that Ashe would not be getting the treaty wanted. He would be a herald of war.

Ashe leveled her eyes on the giant of a man. Nearly seven feet tall, with shoulders as broad as a musk ox, Harthrax was imposing even without weaponry. True to rumor, his skin was covered in sanguine designs, that caused Ashe's own skin to crawl. She drew a deep breath, and forced her voice to remain steady. "Harthrax. The Avarosan welcome you, as well as the treaty you carry. Make your approach, and let us share a cup of mulled wine to wash away the taste of the road."

Harthrax let out a gravelly bark of a laugh and approached. Behind Ashe, Lissandra let out an excited hiss. Drinking from the traditional cup would promise Harthrax protection while he was staying at the hall, and Ashe felt suddenly uneasy about offering it. She stood, and with a shaking hand she poured the wine, taking the first sip as a display of good faith. Harthrax took the chalice from her, and surveyed her appreciatively. "You look beautiful tonight." He said lecherously, and raised it to his lips. "To good company." He said, and drained the cup. Ashe could smell the musky odor of mingled blood and sweat rising off him, and noticed that his canine teeth were irregularly sharp. When he burped into his fur sleeve, she could almost taste the stale scent of ale mixed with the tang of the wine he had just consumed. He was clearly a dangerous man, and Ashe was very afraid. Both of him and of the plan that Lissandra had not yet revealed.

She stood for a moment in complete silence, unable to decide how to begin. Although he disgusted her, and frightened her, the raw wildness in him appealed to her as well. And with every moment she waited, Ashe could feel the ice shard in her growing. "So, shall we retire to discuss terms of the treaty?"

Harthrax laughed again. "There will be no treaty." From the depths of his coat, he pulled out the parchment that her scribes had laboriously written for Sejuani to sign. Rather than the crisp white document it had originally been, the treaty was brown as if it had been immersed in blood. "We will not surrender to your rule."

The room collectively drew breath and waited for Ashe's response. "I see no reason that we should extend our hospitality any longer than necessary." She turned to the guards, and from the corner of her eye saw Lissandra watching intently with her sightless eyes. "Make sure he is escorted safely to the gate."

"We will never surrender to your rule." Harthrax reached into his coat and pulled out a pair of bloodstained helms with the crest of an Avarosan scout.

The crowd did not meet this with silence. The lords shouted for blood and vengeance, but Ashe couldn't give it to them. The oldest law of her land protected travelers and dignitaries, and although Sejuani may have broken it, Ashe would not. "Take him to the gates now!" She commanded. "Do not harm him!"  
>And then Ashe could do nothing. She felt the ice shard within her swell to enormous proportions and spin rapidly. The pain and the pleasure caused her to fall to the floor before her entire court and convulse in ecstasy. The ice around her neck tightened, and restricted her ability to breathe. She was slowly losing consciousness, but could still she Lissandra step forward and say, "look, your Queen has been murdered. You must take vengeance on the man responsible, and then pay back the insult tenfold on Sejuani's people!" Ashe could hear the sound of boots stamping, as her sworn allies cried for blood to be spilled. There was a wet thud as Harthrax's head hit the ground, and then blackness.<p> 


End file.
